Parrot tamers, the latest business in Parc de la Ciutadella

BarcelonaWith the number of parakeets in Barcelona, it was only a matter of time before someone put them to work. These striking and noisy birds are the hook for the latest street vendor in Ciutadella Park. For some time now, they've become another tourist attraction for visitors who stroll through. For one euro, they can take home a photo with one of these animals eating from their hand. However, the practice carries some risks.

The business, which operates mainly near the Greenhouse and the Castle of the Three Dragons, is rudimentary but effective. It doesn't take much skill as a trainer to tame an Argentine parakeet for a while. The first thing these trainers do is place a piece of apple on a tree. A lure. Soon, a handful of parakeets circle the area pecking at the fruit.

When the raw material is in place, the scene is always the same. The person running the business extends his arms. A moment later, the birds are already in the hands of their feeder. The curiosity of the passersby does the rest. They are soon offered the secret of this trick: some pumpkin seeds that delight the parakeets and allow whoever holds them to take a photo with them. In exchange for one euro, they are given the necessary handful.

The operation could be considered a success. In a short time, the investment made in a one-kilo bag of pumpkin seeds is more than recouped. This Wednesday at noon, in just over 20 minutes, nearly a dozen tourists have already decided to take this souvenir home. The audience is diverse: a family with two children, a group of three Japanese friends, an Australian couple... Also a bunch of pigeons that don't jump into the tourists' arms, but do make a killing on the remains of the seeds that fall to the ground.

A risky practice

However, trainers also risk fines, and not just for carrying out an illegal economic activity. Although feeding animals in public spaces is permitted in Barcelona, ​​the ordinance includes fines of up to €600 if it involves littering public spaces. The trail of sunflower seeds on the ground in the Ciutadella district and the vicinity of Passeig Lluís Companys would be an obvious case in point. Municipal sources explain that the City Council has been monitoring these activities for some time and that two specific information campaigns have already been carried out in Ciutadella Park to "prevent the use of birds as a tourist attraction."

Beyond the fact that the presence of food scraps encourages the presence of insects and rats, the problem with feeding parakeets is that it contributes to their population multiplying, as is already the case with pigeons. Furthermore, in the case of these brightly colored birds, it's worth remembering that they have no predators and are an invasive species that has an impact on the city's ecosystem.

In a report prepared for the City Council in 2021, the head of research at the Barcelona Museum of Natural Sciences, Carles Senar, already pointed out that since the first specimens of these birds were detected in Barcelona around 1975, their presence had multiplied exponentially to the point estimated at 20. However, he warned that if no action was taken, this number could reach 20,000 by 2031.

This same document also estimated the economic impact that the management of parrots—and especially their very large nests—has on the City Council. According to data provided at the time by Parks and Gardens, in 2021 the city allocated 200,000 euros each year to 230 interventions for tree branches that had broken due to the weight of the nests or to remove those in imminent danger of falling.